


Pins and Needles

by the-black-birb (moriturism)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Fluff, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmates, Tanaka deserves more love, and attention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:54:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23149591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moriturism/pseuds/the-black-birb
Summary: In which Tanaka finds his soulmate and they are not happy with him.
Relationships: Tanaka Ryuunosuke/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 162





	Pins and Needles

You swore when you found your soulmate, you’d tell them off for all they put you through.

Most people were happy enough just to have a soulmate. It wasn’t a guarantee, and most people went their whole life without finding them.

But you were positively furious.

You’d always lived close to your soulmate. For as long as you could remember, you’d get ghost pains at random times. Usually never too bad, so you didn’t mind.

Come middle school, it got much worse. There’d always be pain in your forearms and on your palms. When the pain continued every day after school and well into highschool, you realized they must’ve played a sport. And they were awfully serious about it, too.

The pains were unbearable in highschool. Your soulmate worked hard, you were sure, but sometimes the exhaustion was just too much. Occasionally they got slapped and you’d simply laugh. They probably deserved it.

Come college, the familiar pain in your palm disappeared. Sometimes you missed it, wondering if your soulmate gave up something they loved. You could understand, you dropped plenty of hobbies once you got to college. But you hoped they were happy.

That is, until the new pain started.

You’d never been particularly squeamish. You could handle ghost stories or bugs. You weren’t scared. But needles made your skin crawl. The sensation of the pinpoint prick against your skin put all your hair on edge.

The first time your soulmate got a tattoo, you almost passed out.

Fortunately, you were simply in your dorm with your roommate. You mentally forgave your soulmate, understanding that everyone goes a little off the rails once they hit college. You had been through your fair share of poor decisions. And then, they continued.

It had been months since the first tattoo. You swore they got a new one every week. But never at the same time, no, you couldn’t prepare yourself.

Finally, you had it. You were taking your final exam for a class when pain burned through you wrist. Some of their tattoos were small and quick, so you thought perhaps you could sit and bear it. How wrong you were.

The pain only got worse. You thought you reached sweet relief when the outline finished, only to feel the needle start to fill in with color.

Soulmate or not, all you saw was red.

You got up from your seat, essentially voiding your exam. You could care less. Mumbling a quick explanation to your professor and hoping you could make it up, you sprinted away from the building.

Careful with your tender skin, you traced the outline of the tattoo as best you remembered. When you were finished, your forearm a large crow wrapped around your forearm.

It was a beautiful tattoo, you thought, although your skin continued to burn from the needle on your skin. Your chest tightened, and your breathing became ragged but you managed to deal with the sensation. This wasn’t their first tattoo, after all.

As the pinprick of the needle faded, you prepared to find your soulmate. It’s said the closer you are to your soulmate, the easier it is for you to feel their pain. You were sure you’d lived in the same town as your soulmate your whole life, since there wasn’t a time you couldn’t remember ghost pains.

So you’d found all the tattoo parlors in Miyagi. There weren’t many, and the pain in your forearm meant you could likely narrow it down to the ones closest to you. And now, you were ready to track down your soulmate.

You thought you’d seen all corners of Miyagi, but you weren’t all too familiar with this area. The streets seemed a bit colder, and the shops more empty. The pace of your steps picked up.

Relief flooded your chest as you realized you were just a block away from the tattoo parlor you were headed towards. You rounded the corner, wondering if you were truly about to meet your soulmate. Where you ready? Your head dropped to look at the ground. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe you weren’t ready. They were your soulmate, so you were bound to meet them eventually. You didn’t need to rush it, right?

“Hey cutie, what’s a pretty lady like you doing here?”

You stopped in your tracks, still staring at your feet. If someone could sound greasy, he did. You stared at the shoes of your approacher. He was in sweats, wearing beat up sneakers. You snickered. _He’s probably bald and ugly._

“Minding my own business,” you retorted, walking past him. “You should do the same.”

You brushed past him quickly, trying not to cause a scene. The tattoo parlor was just a few steps away. Surely, someone in there could help you.

“Hey!” He grabbed your wrist, pulling at you. “C'mon what’s with the sour face? Why dontcha smile?”

His grip on your wrist was unwavering.

You swallowed hard. A bell chimed behind you, signaling a door opening. A silent prayer left your lips, hoping whoever entered would be generous enough to intervene.

You pulled your wrist away, but his hand was like a vice. “Let go of me!”

He pulled you closer. “C'mon that’s no f-”

And then there was a fist in his face, and a burning in your knuckles.

You didn’t really process what happened, but suddenly there was a man in a beanie staring down at your assaulter.

“She doesn’t want to be bothered,” he demanded. As if possessed, the man who grabbed you walked away, wearing a mix of shame and disdain on his face. If you’d been more aware of yourself, you would’ve spit on his dumb shoes.

But your attention was taken by you savior, instead, and the tattoo sticking out his jacket arm.

“Can I see your forearm?” You asked. He looked at you surprised, but started to take his jacket off nonetheless.

“Uh, sure? You okay?”

You nodded. You were here for a reason, after all.

“It’s a little tender, still. You see I just got a tattoo and…” he trailed off as his eyes traced up your arm and the crow you outlined on it.

You looked at his crow, shining and beautiful, as well as the tattoos adorning other parts of his arms, and had no doubt in your mind. You remembered those sensations, too.

“Hi I’m [S/N] [Y/N] and I’m deathly afraid of needles. Of all your tattoos, that one really hurt like a bitch.”

He laughed at you, and put out his hand to shake.

“Tanaka Ryuunoske, but you can call me Ryu. Would you want to get coffee sometime?”

You took his hand in a firm shake. His hand was larger than yours, and worn, too. Callous painted the tips of his fingers, no doubt from years of practice. But his hands felt safe, like home.

“That sounds nice.”

 ** _bonus_** :

You walked into the cafe Ryu told you about, looking for a familiar face. You found it behind a black cup of coffee and a black sweatshirt. And no hoodie.

You laughed.

“Got a problem?” He teased.

“I didn’t know bald men could look handsome.”

It would be a long date.


End file.
